September 4, 2006

New York State median incomes fall 2.7%

Update: Er, no. The Detroit Free Press miscalculated, and New York's income climbed 0.71%, while the country fell 2.8%.

New York State residents seems to have lost some ground lately on median income, with a 2.7% decrease 0.71% increase from 1999 to 2005. (2005 dollars are used in both comparisons.)

Before some readers start jumping up and down about how that's proof that New York's high taxes cause us terrible problems, pause for a moment to look over the map. North Carolina, constantly touted as a place New Yorkers go to, fell 11.3% 3.6%; Michigan fell 12% 14.9%, Utah fell 10.5% , Oregon 10.4% 7.2%, and Mississipi 10.3% 13.6%. Gainers include Rhode Island (4.4%), Wyoming (4.1%), Montana (1.6%), North Dakota (1.2%), and the District of Columbia (0.5%).

Something is certainly happening, but it's a story with deeper roots. Median incomes for the US as a whole are down about 6% 2.8% for that period.

(In the Town of Dryden, it was around 1 in 10 in 2000 at 7.3% for families and 12.4% for individuals. There is no 2005 data available for the Town, but the county's poverty rate climbed from 6.8% to 10%, so I suspect Dryden's has climbed as well. )